Prior to 2012, Laura Silverman’s travel experience had been limited to the United States and Canada. But now she can boast that she has been to 40 countries as publicist traveling with the world-famous Cirque du Soleil.
Before she joined Cirque du Soleil, she was living in Chicago and working for a public relations firm that just happened to have Cirque as one of their clients. She became the lead account supervisor for Cirque and promoted the shows “Kooza,” “Banana Shpeel,” “Alegria,” “Dralion,” “Quidam” and “OVO” in Chicago and surrounding cities.
Then in 2012, she had the opportunity to travel around the world with Cirque and work on “Michael Jackson THE IMMORTAL World Tour.” Having worked with the Cirque shows in Chicago she felt she knew the shows but traveling with one was a completely different experience. “It’s amazing to see the creative teamwork develop, and be there with all the technicians and insiders. It gives you a different point of view,” explains Laura. She also had two weeks off during the tour between engagements in China and South Korea. She traveled through China, Cambodia and explored Beijing. She even hiked through a forest in the middle of the night and ended up camping on the Great Wall of China. That trip was amazing, but she admits a special moment was, “The first time I went to Europe and we were in Paris, and I saw the Eiffel Tower for the first time.”
When the Michael Jackson tour ended in 2012, Laura transitioned over to “Kooza,” which was ironic because it was the first Cirque show that Laura had ever worked on when she was in Chicago.
Since Laura is traveling so much, it is impossible for her to be home for most of the Jewish holidays so she will search on Google for services when she arrives at a city. “Two years ago I was in Warsaw for the holidays, and I know that they have a large Jewish community, but the service was quite small with only about 50 people,” says Laura. She also has fond memories of a Passover seder with six other Jews in West Virginia while traveling with the Michael Jackson tour.
A chilling reminder of her Jewish heritage happened when Cirque performed at the Festhalle Frankfurt in Germany. From this arena in 1938, Jewish citizens were transported to Nazi concentration camps. “It was really chilling to have a performance where Hitler had been and given speeches,” Laura explains of the gorgeous, but haunting, arena.
Presently, Laura is touring with the brand new Cirque du Soleil show “TORUK – The First Flight.” This arena show (meaning it was made to be performed in large arenas rather than under a circus tent) is inspired by the James Cameron film “Avatar.” This show was more than five years in the making and is currently on its global tour, which started in November 2015. “This show is incredibly different from any other show. This show has an English storyteller – it is a prequel to ‘Avatar’ – and has many new elements including large-scale puppets and 40 projectors to change the landscape of the arena,” Laura explains.
Laura’s schedule with this show consists of either riding on a charter bus or flying every Sunday night after the last performance in a city, taking Monday and Tuesday off and then back at it on Wednesday. “It’s very easy to be in the present, and hard to look ahead to the next few weeks,” says Laura. Chances are, if she could tell her non-traveling self four years ago the adventures and experiences that lay ahead of her, she probably wouldn’t have believed it.
Cirque du Soleil presents “TORUK – The First Flight”
Nov. 16-20
Talking Stick Resort Arena,
201 E Jefferson St., Phoenix
Tickets start at $35.
cirquedusoleil.com/toruk
